13 Tips to Prepare Your Soil Before Spring Planting

Are you preparing your garden for spring? It all starts with your soil. In this article, horticulture expert Matt Dursum shows you 13 tips to prepare soil for spring planting.

Written by Matt Dursum Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: March 4, 2025 | 8 min read

Preparing the soil for spring with a large garden rake.

Contents

Soil is the medium that our plants grow in. Without it, our plants would not survive for long. It contains all the nutrients, water, and support our plants need. It also supports an entire ecosystem of beneficial microbes, bacteria, and fungi.

Below the surface, your soil is a living ecosystem that breaks down organic material into nutrients our plants can absorb. The healthier the ecosystem is, the more your plants will thrive. That means bigger and tastier harvests and less maintenance.

When spring arrives, it’s time to prepare your soil for the new growing season. This involves removing debris, adding organic material, and several other steps to improve its overall health. Let’s dive into the 13 tips to prepare soil for spring so you have the healthiest garden this year.

Remove Plant Debris

A pile of dry leaves, twigs and grass along with large, bright orange pruning shears in a garden cart in the garden. — Clean up old plant material to promote a healthier garden.

After the winter season, you may have plant debris littering your garden beds or plots. It’s important to remove them before preparing your soil for spring. Start by clearing large branches, twigs, and leaves. Take out any dead branches and large pieces of wood that may contain harmful bacteria or fungi.

Gently remove dead leaves and plant material from old garden plants. If you have a lot of dead green material from leafy green vegetables such as kale or arugula, save it for later. This material makes great green waste for compost or green mulch.

Leave the Roots

A gardener with scissors trims brown, dry, dead plant material from a garden bed. — Let nature do the work by leaving roots to decompose.

When removing plant debris, leave any plant roots in your bed. This gives the microbes, bacteria, and fungi more organic material to feed on. As they decay, any insects such as beetles and earthworms will feed on them. Fungi and bacteria will feed on the waste and break it down even further.

Old roots leave pockets of air where they decay. These pockets help aerate the ground and break it down naturally. This saves you time and work because you’re letting nature break up the soil naturally.

Take Out Rocks

A man's hands remove a large, irregularly shaped grey rock from a garden bed. — Reuse garden rocks in creative ways like paths or ponds.

Carefully comb through and remove rocks. Anything larger than a small pebble will block the light and water and interfere with natural ground cover.

This step is especially important for new garden plots and beds. Save the rocks for future projects such as creating natural barriers or building a backyard pond ecosystem. This project relies on rocks and stones as natural design materials.

You can also save a few rocks as markers for your plants. Clean them off, mark them with the species you’re growing, and place them around your beds.

Look for Signs of Harmful Fungi

Clusters of honey-colored mushrooms with smooth, rounded caps, slender, pale stems, and gills tightly packed underneath, growing densely on decaying soil. — Keep an eye out for mushrooms and signs of decay.

Some fungi are super beneficial. Other species such as honey fungus are not beneficial; they can cause huge problems in your garden.

Check for fungi throughout the growing season and take note of any mushrooms, mycelium, or decay that you see. If you had any cases of root rot in the prior season, amend it with materials to improve its drainage.

If you notice any residue from copper fungicide or other fungal treatments, remove it. The residues can harm beneficial microbes and insects.

Check the pH

A soil pH meter with a long metal probe is inserted into a pile of soil. — The pH directly impacts your plant health and yield.

Check your soil’s pH with a soil testing kit like this one to prepare for spring planting. The pH measures how acidic or basic your soil is. Acidic soil is less than 6.5 and basic soil is over 6.6.

Most crops prefer soil between 6 and 7.5. Anything too basic or too acidic can be problematic for most garden plants. Use amendments to either increase or decrease the pH if needed. Once it’s in the optimal range, you’ll get more out of your harvests.

In addition to pH, most kits give you data on the percentage of organic material and your soil’s ability to retain nutrients. You’ll also get data on the macro and micro nutrients available, such as potassium, calcium, and potassium.

Pull Out Weeds

Close-up of a garden cart full of soil mixed with weeds against a blurred background of a woman with a shovel weeding the soil. — Control weeds now for healthier, more productive plants later.

Weeds create a real nuisance by competing with your crops for nutrients, water, and space. If the weeds are hard to remove, use a disinfected spade to pry them away. Leave their roots to decay in the soil. Without their leaves performing photosynthesis above ground, the roots will decompose.

Some weeds, such as purslane and dandelions, are excellent sources of food. Dig them out carefully and plant them elsewhere in your garden. Consider using your yard space to cultivate these nutritious edible weeds instead of basic grass.

Comb through with a rake or your fingertips to find small unwanted plants germinating. Remove them before they grow out of control.

Add Compost

A garden bed covered with a thick layer of dark brown, damp compost with a rake and shovel nearby. — Boost garden vitality with a rich, organic compost layer.

After removing weeds, rocks, and debris, it’s time to boost the amount of nutrients. Start by adding a layer of organic compost to prepare the soil for a burst of spring growth. If you haven’t created a compost system in your home, you can buy it at your local nursery. Or, ask a friend or fellow gardener to use theirs.

Compost contains a wonderful blend of microbes, beneficial bacteria, and fungi that breaks down organic material. It consists of green waste—excess food scraps and green plant material, and brown waste—dead leaves, twigs, etc.

Healthy compost should look, feel, and smell healthy. It should be full of microbes and beneficial earthworms. If it smells foul, don’t add it to your garden and change your composting system.

Amend Your Soil

A man's hand in a grey glove applies pale pink granular fertilizer to the soil. — Add fertilizers for rich, nutrient-filled plant support.

Try adding organic worm castings and all-purpose organic fertilizer. Worm castings come from earthworms who break down organic material and convert it into nutrient-rich material. As they digest the material, they release powerful enzymes and beneficial bacteria.

All-purpose organic fertilizer adds a ton of nutrients. Once you dilute it with water, it absorbs into the ground and boosts its NPK content. Try a balanced fertilizer and follow the product’s directions for the best results.

Blend the amendments with your compost and layer it on the topsoil. Shoot for a layer of a few inches spread evenly.

Rake and Water

Watering the soil in a garden bed using an automatic irrigation system. — Carefully rake and water to keep everything balanced.

After spreading the amendments and compost, use a disinfected rake to mix the amendments with the topsoil. Be careful not to dig too deep. You may disturb the delicate ecosystem below the surface.

After raking, moisten the soil with water to prepare for easier spring planting. Try to use a consistent, low-pressure stream of water to soak every inch. Stop watering if you notice pools forming or it looks soggy. Aim for evenly moist but not waterlogged soil; it will be black or dark brown.

Use Seeding Squares

A man transplants young spinach seedlings into a raised bed. — Make planting easier with seeding squares and clear pockets.

Seeding squares are awesome square foot planting tools that are used in square foot gardening. This template makes it easy to plant 1, 9, or 16 plants throughout your bed.

They mold a square foot patch in the topsoil. Insert a clean wooden pole or pencil into the holes to make your seed pockets. This helps keep your garden organized and aesthetically pleasing. It also makes sowing seeds easier and more efficient.

Sow New Seeds

An old grandfather planting small seeds in the freshly watered dark brown soil of his garden. — Sow seeds carefully with guides for neat, even planting.

Once you created your patches for planting, sow your seeds. Gather your seed packs and read the directions. Use the seeding squares as guides and sow each section.

Cover the seeds with soil and add a little more water. Follow each seed’s planting directions and ideal depth. Some seeds prefer a superficial layer of dirt above them while others grow better deeper in the ground.

If you started seeds indoors, it’s time to plant them. Leave spaces for starters and dig holes deep enough to cover their roots. Leave the crowns exposed. Add support stakes or trellises for plants such as tomatoes, peas, or cucumbers.

Cover with Chopped Leaves and Green Mulch

Female hands in colored gloves show shredded grass and dry fallen leaves for mulching beds. — Cover with mulch to prevent evaporation and shield roots.

Anything from oak to fig leaves work wonderfully as organic mulch. If you can, break them up with a mower or by hand in a bin. The small pieces of leaves lock in the moisture and eventually break down, releasing more organic material into the bed.

If you removed dead plant material from leafy greens you grew in abundance the previous year, it’s a good time to use it. Break it apart with your hands into tiny shreds. Spread it evenly in a thin layer on the topsoil.

Now that the topsoil is covered, it prevents sunlight from evaporating the water under the surface. It shades the delicate ecosystem thriving under the surface and protects beneficial insects from predators.

Start Cover Crops

Cover crops add another layer of protection to our gardens. They guard against the sun’s rays, suppress weeds, and protect beneficial insects like earthworms and beetles. They can also produce beautiful flowers or tasty leaves.

There are several wonderful cover crops to choose from. They grow easily by sowing their seeds directly into the soil. Below are several species to add to your garden this year. If a cover crop has a tendency to invade, choose something that’s less detrimental to your local ecosystem.

Clover

Low-growing plants with creeping green stems, trifoliate rounded leaves, and clusters of small, spherical white flowers. — Use legumes to fix nitrogen and suppress weed growth.

Clovers, such as crimson clover, are beneficial cover crops that take up very few nutrients and water. They’re in the legume family of plants like beans and fix nitrogen in the soil through their leaf nodules.

They also suppress weeds by blocking their access to the sun before they grow. As soon as they establish themselves, they’ll produce tiny yet majestic blooms that attract pollinators.

Black-Eyed Peas

Bushy plants with sprawling green stems, oval-shaped leaves, and slender seed pods hanging among the foliage. — Grow fast, fix nitrogen, and provide edible crops.

Black-eyed peas or cowpeas are excellent edible cover crops. They can handle hot temperatures, making them excellent cover crops in warm climates like Florida and Southern California.

Besides being edible, they fix nitrogen to the soil. They grow quickly and form a symbiotic relationship with the subsoil ecosystem and other plants.

Mustard

Upright plants with sturdy green stems, deeply lobed leaves, and clusters of small, bright yellow flowers. — The easy-to-grow plants help structure the soil and attract bees.

Mustard plants provide great ground cover, need very little nutrients or water, and have stunning flowers. They contain glucosinolate, which kills harmful fungi. They’re also edible and delicious!

In the spring, they produce stunning yellow flowers that attract beneficial pollinators like hummingbirds and bees. Their long taproots improve soil structure and create better aeration in the subsurface.

Lentils

Delicate plants with slender green stems, feathery compound leaves, and tiny white flowers scattered across the foliage. — Protein-rich legumes handle cold and outgrow weeds.

Lentils are another edible ground cover to add to your garden. They produce protein-rich legumes to use in your summer recipes.

They will germinate in cold temperatures as low as 40°F (4°C). Sow them directly into the ground after the last frost and they’ll mature quickly. Weeds and grasses won’t have a chance against them.

Radish

Robust plants with leafy green stems, jagged, broad leaves, and long, smooth white roots partially emerging from the soil. — Protect your garden with delicious, nutrient-rich cover crops.

Radishes are some of the most popular garden crops. They also make wonderful edible cover crops! They’re easy to grow and maintain and produce edible foliage that guards the topsoil from the sun’s rays.

The leaves count as green manure, which boosts organic material. Daikon radishes are my favorite cover crops because of their aerating and soil-breaking potential. Plus, they produce giant edible taproots you can use in soups, kimchi recipes, or boiled in rich sauces.

Key Takeaways

Healthy soil is the key to a flourishing garden. Follow these tips to prepare soil for spring and create a flourishing ecosystem. It will benefit your crops and increase your yields. Document your progress and share your experiences with other gardeners in your area.